Assay of urine sulfate at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital
420 34th St., Bakersfield, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1467538520
$3.06
Cash price Discounted cash price What a hospital charges a self-pay patient who pays directly, without going through insurance — usually well below the gross charge. Example: A CT scan has a $3,200 gross charge but an $850 discounted cash price. Ask for it by name when scheduling — hospitals don't always advertise it up front.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$8.33
Gross charge Gross charge (chargemaster price) The hospital's full, undiscounted list price — pulled from its internal "chargemaster" price list. Almost no one actually pays this. Example: A chest X-ray has a gross charge of $1,450. The same hospital's discounted cash price for the same X-ray is $180 — the gross charge mostly anchors negotiations, not what patients pay.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$4.17 with Western Growers vs $15.78 with Cigna — same scan, same building. Share
Negotiated rates by payer
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Negotiated rate
The price a specific insurance plan agreed to pay the hospital for a service — it varies by insurer, and even by plan within the same insurer.
Example: The same knee MRI has a negotiated rate of $904 with one insurer's PPO plan and $1,509 with another's — identical hospital, identical scan.
Full explanation →
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Negotiated rate
The price a specific insurance plan agreed to pay the hospital for a service — it varies by insurer, and even by plan within the same insurer.
Example: The same knee MRI has a negotiated rate of $904 with one insurer's PPO plan and $1,509 with another's — identical hospital, identical scan.
Full explanation →Payer ?Payer The insurance company footing the bill — Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Medicare, and so on. Example: "Blue Cross Blue Shield" is the payer. Its negotiated rate for an MRI might be $904, while a different payer's negotiated rate for the same scan is $1,509. Full explanation → |
Plan ?Plan The specific product an insurer sells — e.g. "Blue Cross PPO 500" — which sets your deductible, coinsurance and negotiated rates. Example: Two people both insured by Aetna can owe very different amounts for the same MRI: $50 with an HMO plan's flat copay, or the full $1,200 toward a high-deductible PPO plan's unmet deductible. Full explanation → |
Negotiated rate | vs. cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $4.17 | ↑ +36% |
| CHN Sun View | Commercial|All Plans | $5.42 | ↑ +77% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|Exchange | $5.42 | ↑ +77% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $5.49 | ↑ +79% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Other Plans | $5.49 | ↑ +79% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $5.49 | ↑ +79% |
| HPN | Medicare|All Plans | $5.49 | ↑ +79% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $5.49 | ↑ +79% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $5.49 | ↑ +79% |
| Scan Health Plan | Medicare|All Plans | $5.49 | ↑ +79% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $5.49 | ↑ +79% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $5.49 | ↑ +79% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|PremerTiered | $5.50 | ↑ +80% |
| BrightHealth | Commercial|All Plans | $5.82 | ↑ +90% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $5.84 | ↑ +91% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|Burn | $6.04 | ↑ +97% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Exchange | $6.09 | ↑ +99% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|> 21 | $6.17 | ↑ +102% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|< 21 | $6.17 | ↑ +102% |
| LA Care | Medicaid|> 21 | $6.30 | ↑ +106% |
| Care 1st | Medicaid|> 21 | $6.30 | ↑ +106% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $6.30 | ↑ +106% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|< 21 | $6.30 | ↑ +106% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|> 21 | $6.30 | ↑ +106% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $6.30 | ↑ +106% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $6.30 | ↑ +106% |
| LA Care | Medicaid|< 21 | $6.30 | ↑ +106% |
| Care 1st | Medicaid|< 21 | $6.30 | ↑ +106% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $6.34 | ↑ +107% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $6.59 | ↑ +115% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $6.59 | ↑ +115% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $6.59 | ↑ +115% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $6.59 | ↑ +115% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $6.59 | ↑ +115% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $7.09 | ↑ +132% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $7.47 | ↑ +144% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|All Other Plans | $7.50 | ↑ +145% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $7.84 | ↑ +156% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $8.33 | ↑ +172% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|Non-GemCare | $8.33 | ↑ +172% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|GemCare | $8.33 | ↑ +172% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $8.33 | ↑ +172% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $8.33 | ↑ +172% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $15.78 | ↑ +416% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $15.78 | ↑ +416% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Assay of urine sulfate at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $3.10 | $4.17 – $15.78 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $38.19 | $1.10 – $21.34 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $17.85 | $5.38 – $38.91 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $7.76 | $2.50 – $14.15 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $7.11 | $1.35 – $16.64 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $17.85 | $5.49 – $49.17 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka | Eureka | $17.85 | $5.49 – $55.76 |
| St. Joseph's Behavioral Health Center | Stockton | $4.76 | $0.84 – $6.67 |